Seriously this groupset is our “normal/reasonable” cyclist’s savior. I do like doing my thing of vintage and new old stock, but there’s just times where you can’t beat new, and the big brands are leaving that void Microshift is absolutely crushing and I love it! Thanks for covering this stuff too!
I don't think CUES would exist without the semi-recent competition from Microshift Advent/AdventX on many entry level bikes. .... Also I always find it funny when you mention budget or saving money on a setup with Paul Clampers.
I'm a poor with 4 boys under 8. They've all got sick sub 15lb bikes built from junk stores and ebay. I could have used your help 4 years ago. This is my new favorite bike channel.
Microshift is highly underrated in my opinion. I replaced a 9 speed Acera with a microshift Advent and has been flawless in the 12 months and 5,000 Kilometres I've had it.
I use Microshift because it is no nonsense, and I use bar-end shifters. However, I had a Microshift derailleur literally fall apart in less than 3 months. Switched to a solid Shimano Ultegra. So far so good.
I'm successfully running Microshift Sword 2x10 Shifters on my 26" MTB/Dropbar conversion with 2x10 Shimano XT Dynasys deraillers (front and rear). It all shifts perfectly! Thanks to this video - the only one that mentioned this compatibility with Dynasys - I saved a lot of money and put some new life into a bike that's been hanging up for the last 2 years 🙂. Thanks to you guys!!
I dont even own a bike with disk brakes! I love Microshift for what they offer. I have two full AventX with drop bars shifters. I love the paddle placement, I found them very easy to use and reach. I also have a bike with SHimano 105 rear derailleur and Shimano 105 flat bar shifter. I am the target audience for Microshift. Nothing I have is Modern. 10 speed everything.
A switch my gravel bike to flat bars few months ago because i wanted to use mountain bike rear derailleur. Now, with microshift, there’s no need for that !
funny how shimano not labeling their rear mechs correctly for size makes you expect the same "wiggle room" i.e. labeling error from competitors. otherwise great and very interesting video! the group seems to be a great option especially if you can use up old shimano mtb parts
Microshift's large-cog capacity appears to be labeled conservatively just as Shimano. In the video, Russ is able to shift fine into the 42t cog. The limit he notes is the chain-wrap capacity (chain being slack when he's in the 11t cog and 26t chainring)
Sword groupset with a shimano compact 2x crank (like 50/34) would be interesting. 34T for climbing and other off-road, and the 50 for hitting the tarmac
Super useful thoughts. I’ve been thinking about building up an old Ti frame with Microshift 2x for touring and this addresses a number of the compatibility and range issues that have been spinning in my head.
9:11 hell yeah, there shouldn't be any fluid on your bike other than sweat! Back to basics, things with right to repair without right to repair statements. I'm myself transitioning to Microshift on my Timberjack and Cutthroat and am not regretting it! Did Klampers on Beargrease and passed those on to Timberjack with no regrets, waiting for the money for Equals on Cutthroat. KISS; Keep It Stupid Simple.
Great video ! Thank you! To all those saying no hydraulic brakes, there is a very simple workaround I have micro shift mechanical shifter and brake levers work with TRP HY/RD hydraulic shifter and I love it, it is way way easier than the reservoir on the levers. less fuss and I can make the other disc. brake bikes I have turn hydraulic in less than .10 minutes.
Thanks for this timely video. I am building up a frame and was trying to decide between microshift or converting a used rim brake groupset into a disc brake system. This made me decide to go with Sword.
This is huge. There is plethora of second-hand Shimano Deore and XT parts in very affordable prices. If I can just buy Sword levers and reuse old Shimano stuff this turns out to be real banger.
Other people might have been thinking the same as here in Australia, the MicroShift 2x shifters are out of stock while all other components are available
I believe you can use the Advent 9-speed long cage rear derailleur (47t capacity and 42-46 max cog) with the Sword Black shifters (same cable pull according to Microshift) and have your 2x wide range set-up. No need for any Shimano hacks...
Advent rear mechs without the clutch are 2x compatible - perfect for touring. They have a long cage Advent without the clutch for 2x. You only have to add a cable adjuster for the rear mech.
FYI- I have used Advent long cage rear mech with 2x setup with Advent bar end shifters. My front crankset was 40-26 with an Advent 11-42 rear cassette. Microshift says the Sword Black brifters work with Advent. I would believe this will work.
Russ, in the video you may be confusing large-cog capacity (mostly a function of the parallelogram geometry) with total chain-wrap capacity (which largely depends on the distance between upper and lower pulley wheel). Based on what you say here, it sounds like the rear derailer capacity would be maxed out by an 11-42 cassette with a 40/28 crankset, or your 40/26 crankset with an 11-40 cassette. The fact that you could shift into and out of the 42t cog with no issues (as far as I can tell, in the video), despite the official large-cog capacity of 38t, indicates that the Microshift's large-cog-capacity is similarly conservative to Shimano. Maybe you're also running into other issues which indicate the max large cog is actually less than 42, but the words you said there make it sound like you're still talking about chain wrap capacity. This discussion starts around 7 min into the video. Later in the video (7:45) you mention (correctly) that cage length is the factor impacting the ability to run a larger cassette in 2x setup.
nice alternative. I find sometime even with shorter throw brifters my aging hands get really strained after a couple hours of riding. Its less with Di2. It wouldn't be an issue except cannot squeeze the brakes hard enough when it gets towards 4 or 5 hours. One finger sounds good though.
Love my microshift and all my bike have the same spacing so i want to swap between them. Would love to just change the front crank on 2 of them so thanks for this
Honestly I contacted several of my local bike shops and none of them carry microshift, plus here in Canada you can't order directly from microshift as a home mechanic, or even find their groupsets online. I too prefer mechanical but right now this is not accessible at all here.
I agree that hydraulic braking is not the most user friendly thing but when bike touring with heavy loads in big descents, i found that mechanical disk brakes are limited. I literally burn my brakes rotor in a descent and barely killed my self because i couldn’t not brake enough in this very steep road
I totally agree. They are overkill on my light weight racing bike,but a must on my much heavier tourers, fully loaded. Disks are much better in very wet conditions also.
I e-mailed MIcroshift after swapping out my stock 2by for one with 2 less teeth on both rings and asked if I could go from 34 to 36T on the largest cassette cog, by switching from their R8 rear mek to their Marvo LT long cage 9-speed. They answered yes, so I naturally bought their 11-38T cassette. It's working fine even without a Wolftooth RoadLink extender.
What if you just use the long cage rear derailleur from the 1x sword or adventX with the 2x geoupset? Im thinking of doing this on my bike, which has the adventX 1x10 and making it a 2x setup with the same rear cassette
My Sram x9 10 speed had a 39-26 crankset. Shifted like butter too. You might want consider them if you build anything else. They also made a 42-28 I believe.
My only complain about mechanical disc brakes is that good ones are really expensive. I'd love a low maintenance, all cable gravel, but in Europe a Microshift Sword groupset is 40 euros less than a Shimano grx 400. Yes, without brake calipers.
That’s what happens when the industry abandons something for a new shiny object. IMO this will only get worse and all mechanical parts will get expensive in the future and become luxury items. Similar to how digital supplanted mechanical watches and now mechanical watches are low volume high price objects.
@@PathLessPedaledTV makes sense, doesn't it? Hydraulic and electronic is cheaper to produce even considering use of servos. Real shame groupsets are still considered new shiny objects and not Montana watch for what they are.
On a german Channel (Tilmann von der Radelbande) is a Video "Einstiegsbike? Baue KEINE neue Bremse ein, tausche etwas anderes!" where you can see, that "compression free cables" have a bigger influence than an expensive mechanical disk break.
@@PathLessPedaledTV I'm honestly too lazy to search your channel, but have you done any experiments with compressionless housing/mechanical vs. hydraulic? I think the industry ignores mechanical because the solution is as simple as housing, which doesn't fail as often as hydraulic. My polyvalent has BB7's with jagwire compressionless housing, my timberjack has XT hydraulic brakes, and my Kona sutra has hybrid mech/hydraulic TRPs... I honestly cannot tell the difference in performance or modulation riding them back to back. I guess you have to feel the lack of difference to believe it but yeah... capitalism being capitalism.
Just a note for people: the Sword CAN go to a 42T cassette (as in the max cog size), but it has low capacity (the amount of chain it can tension) so you'll have to run a 1x to do so.
Thanks for the review. I was looking at the LTWOO GRT12 but thanks to you are reconsidering. At the other end of the price scale are you interested in reviewing the INGRID groupsets?
Using a simple logic, if they were compatible with Shimano Dynasys and with CUES too, I mens Dunasys and CUES RDs must have the same pull ratio and would be interchangeable.
@@PathLessPedaledTV that's because neither CUES (1,05) nor Sword (1,1) are exactly Dynasys (1,2) ratio. So tolerances don't overlap entirely either. And why Microshift doesn't encourage your mix-and-matching
It sucks! Shimano is running four different systems. I believe is just to force the users to buy whole new groups. Microshift has dedicated STIs to run Dynasys RD in their catalogue, the SB-M110 (11s) and SB-M100 (10s). I don't know if you can really find them to buy.
@@feedbackzaloopthat‘s valuable information. Not sure I would want suboptimal parts compatibility for a bike that is supposed to be durable and supple. Actually… no, I am sure, I don’t want miss matched parts!
Not sure going to Shimano Dyna-sys M5210 buys you much. Yes bigger rear cog, but lower overall capacity of 41t. Whereas Sword RD has capacity of (38-11)+(46-29)=44t To use that Shimano RD with a 42t cog you would need to use different cranks to get a lower gear...
Hmmm... They choosed a weird pull ratio, I assume to get a lesser feeling of step up while shifting up the cassette but it will never work properly with sram 1:1 or whatever Shimano equally weirdo ratio. If you ever tried a 1:1 SRAM or TRP derailleur with a friction shifter you'll certainly notice how well it works...
Hi, what do you think about Sensah? I use it on five bikes in my family and it is very good. This brand has capability of 11 and 12 speeds road shifters with gravel rd and also have 2*11/12 set of shifters for flat bar. Last year i build touring bike with 2*9 shifters, 34/46 on front and 11-40 cassette - wide range too.
Best mecanical brake is 4 me the trp spyre next one i buy is microshift stuf i had a bike whit hubgear shimano alfine 8 gears an dropbar shifter from microshift it whas awesom
Awesome video and thx for the information. Thinking about upgrading my gravel/touring bike with Sword. Do you think the following combination will work? New: Microshift Sword Levers Microshift Sword Rear Derailleur Components already installed: Sunrace 11-40 with Wolf Tooth Roadlink 3x10 Deore crank converted to 2x10 with 26/36 (--> maybe change to 26/40) XT 3x10 front derailleur limited to work with the 2x (could be swapped for the microshift derailleur)
Started to test the combination but I can’t get the sword lever to work with my Deore 3x10 front derailleur. It ist not pushing it far out enough so the chain is touching the cage. I also ordered the Front Derailleur now just to be on the safe side. Not sure it will work with the Crank so. Any tips for a crank that works with the Sword FD and has lower gears than the default 29/46? Any ideas?
I have their centos groupset, the front mech is just amazing, much better than any Chinese mainland rivals' offering, brifter is comfortable to hold, no werid bulge to cut my hands. But in other area they do lag behind, like no hydraulic disk option. Also their retail presents are pretty weak, probably Microshifts' focus is still OEM orders.
I was all why don't they rebadge their advent 9 speed 2x rear mech as sword mega range or something so was assuming that's what sword black was going to be. but they just took the clutch off the sword one? from the specs the advent 9's rear max cog is 42-46 with 47t capacity
I'm so sad, I want to change my Kona Dew to a drop bar and these Microshift shifters look so good! I wouldn't need to change my derailleur If only they supported hydraulic brakes :((
Hi there, are the 2x10 Sword Shifters compatable with the old Shimano Tiagra 4600 front and rear derailleurs? Setup is 50/34 crankset and 12/30 rear cassette
I currently run Advent 1x9 on my gravel/commuter/tourer. It ok, still working after 14,000km+. Looking to upgrade to something new but cant really justify the additinal cost of Sword over the Ltwoo GR9 1x11. I'd much prefer hydraulic brakes. I find hydraulic brakes a lot more reliable and easier to maintian than cables and the performance is night and day. I havent tried Klampers though, nor will I at the price they go for! I also dont need 2x. I dont need more range than what a 11-50T offers.
I tried out the Ltwoo GR9 for about 1.500 km and can't recommend it. IMO it's basically impossible to keep the shifting accurate for more than one ride. It'll just rattle, ghost shift or not shift at all. Tried different combinations, e.g. with fitting Shimano cassettes, but it didn't help.
3 месяца назад
Will the sword RDR work with the advent x 1x10 trail trigger shifter?
So Klampers at almost $500 a pair put me off of mechanical disc brakes. Most other options are pretty universally panned, or similar in cost (Growtac’s at $365). So while I am not strictly against an all mechanical drivetrain, I went with L-TWOO 1x12 hydraulic for about $220 (aluminum version, just levers, calipers, and rear mech). It is been pretty flawless on two bikes and plenty of miles. Sure it is less tinkering friendly, but 510% range has been plenty enough. So are there mechanical calipers that don’t break the bank and don’t suck?
They may work with mini V-brakes. I run TRP CX 8.4 mini V-brakes with a set of Microshift 2 X 9 levers (pre sword), and they work well. The pads do run close to the rims.
Hi Russ! I own Sword..and I’m a happy owner from the Accent X range..I have a question re Sword though: The left lever has a dropper lever option..can you look into how to use this? I’m having difficulty with cable config here! Installation doesn’t seem to easily work here..as both ends ‘want’ cable ends. Or am I missing something? :)
Sounds like you need a dropper post cable clamp. They used to be quite widely used, but the lever designs are different now. You screw it onto the cable by the dropper post and it will work
@@PloCnik awesome…ok..how do you physically attach it when the cable will need to be set to a taught length..when the dropper post is out of the seat tube? That’s the main awkward aspect to this install 🙂
@@neil_b-g yes, it's a bit finnicky to install. You eyeball the needed length and install it with the dropper post outside. An inline cable tension adjuster can be of a great help here. Luckily, dropper posts aren't that precise and it will work even if it's not assembled ideally.
Grease isn’t exactly classified as fluid in most cases. NGLI 00 grade grease is considered semi-fluid. It’s used in some Snapper lawn mowers. I use it in late model Sturmey Archer hubs.
@@Cycling_Brian Fluide def. noun: fluid; plural noun: fluids A substance that has no fixed shape and yields easily to external pressure; a gas or (especially) a liquid. Definitively a fluid. Not to mention that grease turn into "oil" under pressure and temp condition in a running bearing.
@@treszenrv9401 it depends on the NGLI consistency number of the grease. Most bearing greases for bicycles are typically NGLI 1 or 2, which are considered semi solid, much like peanut butter. Semi fluid greases, like 00, are somewhat pourable. It’s the consistency of grease used in some internal gear hubs. 000 grease is fluid and is pourable, but is too runny for most bicycle applications.
